Here is an interesting Inside Higher Ed piece on Notre Dame College in Cleveland, Ohio:
Notre Dame College in Ohio is on the brink of losing its formal ties to a religious order that allows the institution to call itself Catholic under canon law. The Sisters of Notre Dame, the order of nuns that founded the college in 1922, announced earlier this year that they’re severing their official connection with the institution at the end of June. As orders of nuns and priests shrink, a growing number of Catholic colleges have lost, or risk losing, sponsorships by them and find themselves left with hard decisions about how to remain tied to the Catholic Church.
A statement from the Sisters of Notre Dame explained that its nuns are aging and no longer have the capacity to be the formal guardians of the college’s Catholic values. The statement noted that 87 percent of the nuns are now age 70 or older, and the median age of the order is 78. The order sponsors multiple K-12 schools, but Notre Dame College is the only higher ed institution under its auspices.
“Over the past 33 years, our sisters have gradually withdrawn from the Board and leadership positions at the College in the face of the increasing complexities of higher education and as fewer sisters with appropriate training and expertise were available to serve at the institution,” the statement read. “Today, with little remaining experience in higher education, we are no longer equipped to meet our canonical obligations as a sponsor of the College … This decision is consistent with our long-term planning to ensure our mission and ministries continue despite our aging population.”
College leaders now have to decide if the college can retain its Catholic identity by finding another religious order to sponsor it, seek direct sponsorship from the local diocese or join a group of higher ed institutions that already has approved sponsorship from the Vatican. Alternatively, it could give up its formal status as a Catholic college but continue to embrace Catholic values. For now, the college has a letter from the local bishop affirming its Catholic status until it finds a more permanent solution.
“Since we were sponsored by the Sisters of Notre Dame, and their relationship is directly to Rome, we have kind of a direct descendancy … that allows us to say we’re Catholic with a big ‘C,’” said J. Michael Pressimone, president of Notre Dame College. “Really, for us, it’s a question about ethos and identity. What is it about our Catholic identity that informs how we see our work in the world today?”
Read the rest here.
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